Atobe's Dilemma
by thedancingcheese
Summary: The first time the great Atobe Keigo laid his eyes on her, he fell in love. Only, he would never admit it to himself. Over his dead, beautiful, absolutely perfect body. AtobexSakuno, crack
1. Possession

… **Wherein Atobe acts like a total dork? (Three-shot)**

/Notes and Warnings/** This is AtoSaku in crack so expect OOC-ness and randomness. See my profile page for other warnings.**

/Disclaimer/ **If I owned Prince of Tennis, I wouldn't be writing POT fanfiction.**

* * *

**ATOBE'S DILEMMA  
**

By thedancingcheese

* * *

Part One: Possession

The first time the great Atobe Keigo laid his eyes on her, he fell in love. Only, he would never admit it to himself. Over his dead, beautiful, absolutely perfect body.

It was on a school day, and he was set to visit Seigaku's captain, Tezuka. But the Seigaku campus was so frightfully new to Atobe, who was used to have maps in his elite school, showing where was where. He got himself temporarily misplaced, and was relieved when he finally found a person in campus to ask.

"You," he called in his commanding voice. "Ore-sama has something to ask."

The young girl turned, her eyes wide in surprise. She held a tennis racket in her hands, and her face flushed red as soon as she recognized who she was about to talk to. Quickly, she gathered her things in her arms and hid them from him.

"Y-Yes?"

By this time, Atobe was curious. He walked towards her and took the things in her arms. It was a self-returning tennis ball. Smirking and about to spout something about the pitiable quality of training in Seigaku as compared to Hyoutei, he stopped himself. All of a sudden, blood rushed to his face, and he panicked slightly. What if he was having sun stroke? No. That was not it, he decided. He shook his head and looked back into her eyes – her large, chocolate-colored eyes – and he felt himself going dizzy. He pushed the tennis ball roughly back.

What was going on?

"Atobe-san? A-are you alright?"

He cleared his throat and tried to regain his composure. Looking away, he asked, "Seigaku's tennis club. Ore-sama needs to find it."

"Ah," came the small voice. "Just turn to the left… or was it to the right…? Um… maybe I should go look with you, Atobe-san? I'm not quite sure…"

Fighting back the urge to grin, Atobe kept his face away.

"Saa, if you insist."

o-o-o-o

After that, Atobe found various reasons to go back to the school. Whether it was as simple as inviting Seigaku to a practice match, or something totally unrelated such as delivering memos that the faculty needed to deliver (there were fax machines and the Internet, but Atobe _insisted_).

He couldn't understand why, but Atobe didn't like NOT knowing things, so he decided that it must be that way because he liked the refreshing simplicity Seigaku had. He needed to take a break from all the stuffy luxury in Hyoutei, he told his teammates in an attempt at a bored tone. And, in his point of view, they believed him.

Now, what was strange was that every time Atobe visited, he always made it a point to visit the strange pigtailed girl.

Her name was Ryuzaki Sakuno, from Class 1, Section C, he learned. He would pass by the school's rooms to take a peek inside. _Not a peek_, he would tell himself, smiling smugly. _I just want to observe how commoners' schools work like._ But once he would spot her room, he would stop by it and look shamelessly inside. Only when the classroom teacher caught him would he tear himself from it and walk dignifiedly away.

"I'm sorry," Tezuka said after one of their meetings. "We decline your offer."

"Why?" Atobe demanded, pounding his end of the meeting table.

"Atobe." The Seigaku Tennis Club Captain pushed up his glasses, his emotionless face unchanged. "This is the fifth time this month."

"Hah! Seigaku should be glad that Hyoutei would even bother to invite your small school to participate ore-sama's team practices!" he retorted haughtily. "Your meager facilities are no match for Hyoutei's state-of-art ones! You are an idiot to turn this down, Tezuka!"

Calmly, Tezuka put down the request papers and put his hands together. "I think you should talk directly to Ryuzaki Sakuno-san." Before Atobe could defend himself, Tezuka stood up and pushed a piece of paper towards him. "One of our players took down her number for you. I wish you good luck."

And he left Atobe alone, the piece of paper secured in his shaking hands.

There was no way in hell that the great Atobe Keigo would lower himself to do such a thing!

o-o-o-o

"H-Hello."

"Hello?" It was an old lady on the other line. And why the heck was Atobe's voice shaking?

He cleared his throat and said, "Is this the Ryuuzaki residence?"

"Hyoutei's Atobe Keigo, is that _you_?" came the surprised voice. Suddenly, Atobe heard panic sink in the voice. "I thought Tezuka already told you – we're not accepting any more joint practices and that is FINAL!"

"Ah, ore-sama did not call about that, sensei. Though ore-sama still feels that you are making the wrong decision," he replied, feeling his confidence rise again. "Ore-sama would like to talk to your granddaughter, please."

"Sakuno?! What the heck do you want with my granddaughter?"

_Such rude language!_ Atobe thought in surprise. He decided to ignore it and continue pursuing his true purpose. "Nothing of importance. Do not worry, oba-sama. Ore-sama would take responsibility for her."

"RESPONSIBILITY?!"

"Ah, ore-sama has to go." Quickly, he slammed down the phone, his heart thumping hard. _Oba-sama?! Responsibility?!_ He thought in panic, slapping his deep-red face. _Ore-sama must be losing his senses!_ Atobe would rather roll around in mud like a pig than let this embarrassment remain long.

Quickly, he went back to the phone and redialed the number. He had to fix this mishap at once!

"Hello, sensei," he said once the phone was picked up. "Ore-sama is sorry, he did not know what he was talking about and it was a temporary moment of confusion. Please---"

"Atobe-san?" It was the girl.

Atobe slammed down the phone. Hard.

o-o-o-o

After more failed attempts, Atobe finally decided that a phone call wasn't very impressive at all.

And so, he now stood in the middle of the opening of Seigaku's gate, waiting for the last bell to ring. The students coming out began whisper among themselves, at the strange sight.

"It's the monkey king." It was Echizen Ryoma, together with Momoshiro Takeshi and Eiji Kikumaru. Ryoma was pointing casually towards Atobe.

"You must be pleased to come across ore-sama here."

"This is _our_ school. Of course we'll be here," Momoshiro piped up, looking at him weirdly. "What are _you_ doing here, Atobe-san?"

Atobe flipped a stray hair elegantly. "Ore-sama is here for an important business."

"Nya, I don't want to go to your school anymore!" Eiji said, frowning deeply, as if recalling a very bad memory. "Your food sucks, and it's not even free! Mou!"

"A-Ah, Eiji-sempai…"

"You lost your monkeys," Ryoma stated as a-matter-of-factly, and gestured towards his now bickering sempai-tachi. He shrugged and went ahead of them.

"Eh, what did you mean by that?!" Momoshiro said, grabbing Ryoma by the collar.

"Ochibiiii!"

Atobe sighed as he looked away from the ugly sight. Really, did the students of Seigaku have no sense of decorum at all? If only his business wasn't this important, he would've gone home to the familiar comfort of Hyoutei…

… and all of a sudden, a familiar pair of long pigtails appeared.

Atobe found himself getting weak in the knees – even more than the last time. He had to figure out what was wrong, and soon. Gathering himself up, he approached her. And as she saw him coming, she and her friend stopped in their tracks.

"G-Good afternoon!" Sakuno greeted politely when he stopped in front of her. She bowed slightly.

"Ore-sama needs to t-talk to you." The friend beside her gasped at his faltering voice and he shot her a deadly glare. "Come with ore-sama for a while." Without waiting for her to say yes (or no, but then again, Atobe did not consider that), he pulled her with him.

The bickering trio stopped just long enough to watch them leave.

o-o-o-o

"A-Atobe-san?" Sakuno exclaimed, as soon as Atobe's driver stopped in front of a familiar white building. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Ore-sama's family owns a share in this hospital," Atobe replied, waving it off as nothing important. "Ore-sama is interested in helping you cure your disease, which seemed to have affected ore-sama as well." Before Sakuno could protest, he held a stopping hand in front of her face. "Ah, save the gratitude; think of this as charity from the bottom of ore-sama's heart."

The girl said nothing more and sat back as the luxurious car was parked. Her forehead was creased and showed how full of questions she was. But Atobe did not see that at all; he was beaming proudly to himself and was inwardly patting his back for a job well done.

o-o-o-o

As expected, they were both healthy with no trace of disease at all. Atobe put up quite a fuss about it, and demanded the doctor to resign for he did not meet the standards of his hospital. The doctor remained calm and decided to just play along.

"Ore-sama does not understand," he told the doctor. "There is a problem! Ore-sama is sure of that!"

"What makes you think that?" the doctor asked with a sigh, hoping to get everything over with. He had more patients lined up – patients with real sicknesses. "Really, Keigo-sama, your physical tests show that you are at the peak of your health. Except for a slight increase in heartbeat rate, everything appears to be normal."

"Then this must be a new virus," the young master declared passionately. "For ore-sama to act so strangely every time he sees that girl – this is the first time it ever happened. His knees get wobbly and he becomes dizzy. It all came from that pigtailed girl, I'm sure."

The doctor smiled and stood up. Though status did not permit, he patted Atobe's head just like a child because he found him unexplainably adorable. And for once, since he was deep in thought, Atobe did not mind.

"You'll understand in time, Keigo-sama," he said. He took a prescribing pad. "Now, my prescription requires you to spend more time with her until you discover what this sickness is. Here you go."

Nodding, Atobe stood up to meet the equally healthy Sakuno in the hallway.

o-o-o-o

The confused and unconsciously smitten Atobe began thinking silently as Sakuno walked behind him. He had offered to walk her home – his own way of following the doctor's strange prescription at once. He wondered if they were dying and nobody knew about it, but seeing how healthy and normal Sakuno was calmed him down a bit.

"Anou," Sakuno began. "I'm sorry, Atobe-san. Can I know what's going on?" She kept walking.

Atobe, who was walking further ahead with his hands dug deep inside his coat pockets, turned around slightly and said, "Ore-sama is bothered by you."

"EH?!" Sakuno exclaimed, stopping. "I'm so sorry!"

At the sight of her panicked face, a blush came up Atobe. He covered his face with a hand and waved her away. It was the disease, he thought sullenly. It was getting worse! "Ah… it is nothing big enough to worry ore-sama entirely," he told her. "But we must hurry – it is getting dark and oba-sama would be worried."

Sakuno nodded, her expression still questioning.

Shakily, Hyoutei's captain held out an unsure hand toward Sakuno. "Come," he said, his face still behind his free hand. "Hold on to ore-sama so you won't get lost."

"A-Ah…" She was scared – it was obvious. Quite possibly, holding Atobe's hand was the last thing in the world she would've wanted to do.

Atobe shook his hand a little to persuade her, and, although nervous, Sakuno finally took it.

And they walked hand-in-hand home.

Somehow aware that he was wrong for the first time in his life, Atobe Keigo had the feeling that somehow, this wasn't a sickness at all.

He was possessed!

o-o-o-o

**To Be Continued  
**

/Note/

**Ore-sama: 'my esteemed self' which shows conceit; in this case, I treated it as third person and substituted some with pronouns because it sort of sounds less awkward, like, "Ore-sama wants you to come to him" as compared to "Ore-sama wants you to come to ore-sama".**


	2. Misconception

… **How could the story progress with these two dense-people?! But somehow, Atobe realizes the truth! (Three-shot, part 2)**

/Disclaimer/** Unfortunately, nothing has changed since the last update.**

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**ATOBE'S DILEMMA**

By thedancingcheese

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Part Two: Misconception

They say that the forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest. Or was it 'nutrient-filled fruit'?

Anyway, whatever kind of fruit it was, that is what Atobe Keigo experienced during the first weeks of his attempt at following the doctor's prescription. He knew for himself that he was not sick at all; he was, in fact, possessed.

No matter how much logic told him to stay away from the girl, his body was somehow gravitated towards her. He put this off as some sort of side-effect from the possession, and that even his godly self-control couldn't fight against it.

And so, for the past weeks, he had been spending quite a lot of time with Ryuzaki Sakuno.

o-o-o-o

"How many times does ore-sama have to tell you?" Atobe began, with a hint of gentleness in his annoyed voice. "When you hit the ball back, you bend your knees a little. No – not THAT much. Ahh, it is hopeless. Watch ore-sama do it again."

Somehow, they always ended up practicing tennis. Atobe found out that it was basically the only thing they had in common – Atobe did not like Sakuno's favorite places, such as the library, and Sakuno felt uncomfortable at the beautiful restaurants Atobe brought her to. At least, they had common ground in the tennis courts, and the best thing about it was that Sakuno never snapped back at him when he was being extra-strict.

"Got it?"

Sakuno nodded and smiled up at him. "I'm ready, Atobe-san!" she called out, after she had ran to her side of the court. Her stuttering around him seemed to have disappeared, as well, and this made Atobe feel strangely victorious.

Atobe stretched out to hit an easy serve, and he then watched Sakuno execute the form he showed her earlier. He smiled proudly as she hit it back easily.

"Very good."

Sakuno beamed. Atobe stretched his arm towards her.

"Now, come. As a reward, ore-sama shall treat you to ice cream."

And somehow, after the tennis, they always end up buying food – mostly for Sakuno.

o-o-o-o

"Thank you for teaching me today again, Atobe-san!" Sakuno said as she wiped her mouth daintily after eating ice cream. "Our buchou told me that I've improved a lot these first weeks!"

"Of course!" Atobe replied rather haughtily. "What else could you expect? After receiving such privileges from no less than ore-sama, your skills are bound to improve ten-fold!"

Sakuno smiled. "Haii! I like training with Atobe-san!"

Atobe paused and turned to look at Sakuno, his mouth open. What did she just say…? Suddenly, his stomach began twisting into uncomfortable knots, and his face turned deep red. He covered his face with his hand again and started to laugh shakily. "A-Ahaha! You f-flatter ore-sama, Sakuno. Ore-sama knows that even without y-you telling him! Hahaha!"

Sakuno did not notice this slight change of voice, and kept smiling. "I like Atobe-san, too!"

This took the cake. For some reason, blood spurted out of Atobe's nose and he was sunk into deep levels of panic. The spirit was taking over his body like crazy, and he knew that it was only a short time before he takes over completely. He held onto the edge of the table, shaking.

"Ahhh! You're bleeding!" Sakuno stood up and began fussing over Atobe, offering her handkerchief. "Let me wipe your nose, Atobe-san!"

Atobe pushed her away slightly. "Do not touch ore-sama!" he growled fiercely, his blush growing hotter than ever. Quickly, he stood up and ran away.

o-o-o-o

"Ah, finally, Atobe-san actually attended practice today!" Shishido commented sarcastically, as he began keeping his racket inside its case. Ootori shushed his partner and looked at Atobe apologetically. "Tsch. Too bad it ended already, buchou."

"Atobe! You're bleeding!" Oshitari exclaimed, a bit surprised. He walked calmly over to the bench where their captain sat, his head still covered with his hands. He took out a towel from his jacket pocket and handed it to him, genuinely curious.

"Just a nosebleed," Atobe replied, answering Oshitari's curiosity at once. "Ore-sama does not involve himself in disgusting matters such as fist-fights." He took the towel and put it against his nose.

As the other members dispersed for dismissal, Oshitari stayed behind. "Is this why you haven't been to the practices lately?" he asked casually.

"It is none of your business." He handed the bloody towel back to his teammate.

"Well, if you're soiling my good towel, it is," he replied stolidly, inspecting the towel in quiet disgust. "You know that Shishido's not too happy about this, right?"

"That guy is never happy with anything," Atobe replied dismissively. "Ore-sama doesn't care for his preferences at all. Besides, ore-sama is working on important matters."

"It's a girl."

Atobe frowned. "No."

He stood up and walked away.

o-o-o-o

Atobe bit the tip of his finger worriedly. He sat in front of their house's fireplace, in deep thought. He had ordered all their servants to not bother him for the rest of the night.

Oshitari's words rang over and over in his mind.

Of course, it wasn't about a girl. Atobe wasn't someone who fell for non-sophisticated little girls with horrible, abnormally long pigtails. He always preferred the luxurious beauties, with curves and elegance, and Sakuno did not have any of that at all. She wasn't even any good at tennis.

It was the stupid damn spirit that decided to make Atobe's body its home.

_Well, ore-sama can't blame you, spirit-san_, he thought, smirking a bit, _you have exceptionally good taste._ He sat up straighter and took a sip from his red wine. It seemed to calm him a bit.

"But maybe ore-sama isn't looking at all sides of it properly…" he mused. "Maybe ore-sama has left something out? After all… ore-sama hasn't been able to use his superior knowledge for the past weeks…" He hummed a little as he observed how the red fluid in his wine glass moved.

And suddenly he stopped.

Panic rose up his throat, and his eyes were wide in horror.

He jumped out of his seat to go to the telephone, and almost as if someone was running after him, he dialed furiously. A drowsy voice answered after lots of rings.

"Hello?"

"Sensei! Ore-sama must speak to you at once!"

The doctor cursed at the other line, and sounds of rousing from sleep were heard. "Keigo-sama, it's two in the morning. What could possibly…"

"Ore-sama… suspects that…" His face flushed. "… that he is in love with that girl."

A sigh. "That's what I've been trying to tell you all along."

"Ah. You knew?"

"Yes. It was plain obvious. Everyone knew. The girl must know as well."

"Everyone?" Atobe echoed, horrified. "But it is impossible! What is wrong? Why _her_ of all people?"

"I don't know, myself. But Keigo-sama, seriously, I'll take you in first thing in the morning… let me just go back to sleep, and you just think about it, yourself, all right?" He yawned. "Good bye, Keigo-sama."

o-o-o-o

After being able to know the truth, everything changed for Atobe Keigo.

He had gone over everything that had happened in unexplainable humiliation. How could he have gone around with her, teaching her tennis, snapping at her, while thinking that he was possessed? How mistaken could the great Atobe Keigo be? How much of himself has he revealed without knowing it?

For the first time in his life, he felt conscious and had kept to himself during school. He did not attend practice, for fear that Oshitari was laughing at him behind his back. Besides, there was a large possibility that his other teammates knew about his predicament beforehand! Instead, he went out to confront the source of all this insanity: Ryuzaki Sakuno.

His plan included him telling Sakuno to confirm her confession yesterday (though it was all for formalities sake, since how could such a girl like Sakuno resist Atobe's charms?), and giving her the chance to be with him.

He waited for her at the front of Seigaku's gates, with the image of battle in mind.

"Monkey King," came a greeting. "It's you again."

Ryoma Echizen stood before him, calmly drinking a can of Ponta. Atobe winced, wondering if the lad knew about him, as well. Nevertheless, he would not let his ego be trampled upon more. He jutted out his chin and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Echizen Ryoma."

"Why are you here?" he asked casually, walking over to where Atobe was. "Want a match against buchou again?"

Atobe shook his head. "Such trivial matters do not concern ore-sama, for we all know who's going to win anyway. I am here for more important things."

"Ah." Sip. "Ryuzaki."

Atobe took a step back, shocked. "How did you know?!" As soon as the words escaped his mouth, he wallowed in regret. He cleared his throat. "Ore-sama means… that he has unfinished business with that girl."

Ryoma nodded, his expression unchanged. "Good luck," he said, shrugging a bit. "See you around." He walked away.

Finally, Atobe's heart managed to calm down. How much did everyone know, really? Even the usually socially passive Ryoma knew about it, too! Was it true that even the pigtailed girl…?

"Atobe-san! Are you okay?"

He turned around, surprised. Once again, the blush climbed up his face, and an unsuppressed smile entered his face. He nodded, unable to say anything. His knees felt like they were about to give in.

"See you, Sakuno-chan!" said her friend, with a wink. Sakuno cocked her head in question, but said nothing.

"A-Ah." _Tell her about it. She said she likes ore-sama, hadn't she? She must take responsibility for her actions! Remember, she is smitten by you! _He told himself. He cleared his throat again. "O-Ore-sama will walk you home."

Unknowingly, Sakuno smiled. "Haii!"

o-o-o-o

On their way home, Sakuno asked Atobe to stop by with her at a certain cake shop. In the condition that he was currently in, Atobe could not refuse at all.

"To thank Atobe-san for all his kindness," she said, as she picked out two slices of cake. "This is my favorite flavor, Atobe-san! It's really good!"

After they had both sat down, Sakuno began talking about how her practice went, and the things their captain wanted her to improve on. Atobe, though listening intently, constantly had his head wandering over different things, such as whether Sakuno was doing this because she liked him, or if she wasn't at all serious about what she said yesterday.

"… how about you, Atobe-san? How was your day?"

Finally, Atobe thought. This was his chance. He opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly, a flushed Sakuno stood up.

"Ah! I'm sorry! Please excuse me for a while! I… I have to go to the bathroom for a bit!" In her rush, she left her school bag on the table, and nudged it carelessly, spilling most of its content.

Atobe sighed in relief as he leaned back into the cushioned seat. Silently, he tried to recover his confidence, and he started working on putting the things back into her bag. He stopped when he got across a leather card case, and out of pure curiosity, he opened it to see what was inside.

As soon as he did, he closed it, and as if on cue, Sakuno returned.

Atobe stood up.

"Atobe-san?" Sakuno said, surprised.

"Ore-sama has to go." He placed bills on top of the table and hurried out.

The card case held a picture of Echizen Ryoma… and it was now tucked safely inside Atobe's pocket.

o-o-o-o

**To Be Continued  
**

**Did you guys notice that Atobe actually answers to 'monkey king'? XDDD**


	3. Conclusion

… **Just when Atobe gets it right, things all go wrong! How does the monkey king handle all these NOW?! (Three-shot)**

/Disclaimer/ **Please see previous disclaimer…**

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**ATOBE'S DILEMMA**

By thedancingcheese

* * *

Part Three: Conclusion

The great Atobe Keigo was depressed.

It was the worst Hyoutei has ever seen. Usually, he was lounging around like some prince, having everyone work to their bones, but this time… oh wait.

He was still doing the same. Except that he's more bloodthirsty and rude and callously evil that the Hyoutei team was actually sorry that he came back (even Shishido). This time, he would sit atop a high chair with a microphone in his hand, screaming, "More laps! More laps!" to the point that his teammates actually started wanting to push the microphone deep in his throat or to tear off his lower limbs and show him what a lap really looked like.

Of course, this time, nobody said anything; they might worsen their current conditions.

Even Kabaji was too stressed out to say 'usu' at another set of nerve-wracking laps.

"This is that bitch Tezuka's fault," one of them kept muttering under his breath, as he recalled the same thing from the Seigaku captain. "No-good Seigaku bastards." Such comments were also heard from quite a number of them, piling the blame over Seigaku, their recent visitors.

They were right, obviously, but they missed the right person to blame it to.

It was all due to Ryuzaki Sakuno.

o-o-o-o

"Ore-sama fires you! Get out!"

The doctor took a step back in surprise, as Atobe came rushing mad into his office. "Huh?" He had imagined that everything went well – Atobe figured out his problems and he got him totally off his back. Now what was this?

"You have made too many mistakes with your careless prescriptions. You have no right to serve under this hospital's name!" Atobe kept raging.

"Huh? What? What are you talking about, Keigo-sama?" Real thoughts: _What is this idiot up to now?!_

"Love? Love your hairy ass! Ore-sama is not, and will never be in love with such an inconsiderate girl! You have confused ore-sama enough. You are a useless doctor!" Atobe said, with strong emotions evident in his voice.

"Can you please calm down and tell me what's wrong, instead of you ridiculing other people's backsides?" As if having his patience run out, the doctor sat back into his chair, already calm. He took a deep breath and met Atobe's hostile stare. He then gestured for him to sit down.

Reluctantly, Atobe followed, and gave the doctor a deadly glare.

"Now, now. Glaring like that won't solve anything, would it?" he said, folding his hands in front of him. "Let's start from the beginning and tell me what's all this about."

Without saying anything, Atobe took out the card case from his pocket and threw it on the table in front of the doctor. He had actually kept it with him for the rest of the day, wondering if he should burn it or throw it away, but realized that he could do neither.

As soon as the doctor opened the card, his eyes widened slightly.

"Oh my."

"That's rather an insult to ore-sama, isn't it?" Atobe said coldly.

"No… no, I'm sorry." He put a hand up to stop Atobe, who was about to go on a tirade again. "What we diagnosed was your feelings, not the young girl's. You have to understand, Keigo-sama."

The doctor looked at him sadly; it was obvious that this was the first time that Atobe actually fell in love with someone other than himself. He was experiencing an actual rejection, something that didn't even exist in the young master's nightmares. He wondered how to say it gently, without forcing all of it just then.

"What does ore-sama have to understand? Everything is clear now." The same coldness.

He sighed. "Look, just see the situation in this way," he began optimistically. "Keigo-sama loves this girl, doesn't he? But what about the other girls who are in love with Keigo-sama? You can't love them all back because there is one special person that can only make you happy as she does. Do you understand now?"

This made Atobe silent for a while; he was rethinking what the doctor has just said. Smiling to himself and inwardly dancing a victory dance, the doctor kept on with the momentum on his side.

"Now, what you have to do is to decide. Do you like her enough to try harder? Or will you give up and wait for a more special person to come into your life? One's happiness depends on oneself. You are the only one who can repair all these."

"Decide… ore-sama only has to decide…" Atobe nodded. "How can ore-sama know if what he does is wrong?"

The doctor smiled again.

"There are no wrong decisions, Keigo-sama."

o-o-o-o

"Tezuka, it's ore-sa---"

"Good bye."

"Wait!" Atobe said breathlessly into the cell phone. "How dare you attempt to hang up on ore-sama!"

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Atobe cursed under his breath. Tezuka certainly wasn't going to be of any help. Asking her grandmother would be a very wrong decision. Sakuno was definitely impossible as a choice. He bit the tip of his thumb as he scrolled through the elements of his phonebook for someone reliable.

"Ah. Yes." He punched the number and waited for a response when the phone began to ring.

A yawn. "Hello?"

"Echizen. This is Atobe Keigo, from Hyoutei."

"Good bye."

"Oi! Ore-sama is talking to you!"

Sounds of leaves rustling sound from the other line. "What is it, monkey king?" Ryoma asked sleepily. "I was taking my afternoon nap."

"You brat! You're supposed to practice, aren't you?" Atobe sneered. Of course, who was this idiot kid anyway? Atobe and he were in totally different leagues. He was no match for his charms and beauty. "Anyway, ore-sama doesn't care about unimportant details. He needs to ask you a question."

"What?" Ryoma was getting impatient.

Atobe took a deep breath. "Do you love Ryuzaki Sakuno?" he asked straightforwardly.

"No."

The answer came faster than Atobe had ever imagined. So fast that it actually left him speechless.

"Can I hang up now?" Ryoma asked, which broke Atobe's temporary trance.

"Why? Why not?" he blurted out.

'Ah…" Ryoma yawned again. "I really don't have time to think of those things… I'll hang up now… Goodnight…" And the phone _beep-_ed again.

"It isn't even night yet, idiot!" Atobe said into his beeping phone, but he was already grinning widely.

o-o-o-o

It was pretty evil of Atobe to not consider Sakuno's feelings of getting rejected by Ryoma. Nevertheless, he couldn't care less about his connection to the whole situation. His mind was already full about his plans to make Sakuno totally and unquestionably his.

"Ah, Kabaji, it is such a nice day, ehn?"

Atobe had brought Kabaji with him to help him carry the bouquet he was currently trying to pick out. Of course it wasn't up to him to carry such a big thing to Seigaku, right? He was hovering over the deep, red roses.

"… this girl…"

Atobe turned around, surprised to find the big boy staring at him with eyes slightly wider than usual. It wasn't often that the boy spoke anything other than his agreements.

"… this girl likes Echizen Ryoma…" Kabaji said in his low voice. "… ano…"

"Speak it out, Kabaji!" Atobe said impatiently. "Ore-sama hasn't got all day!"

"… but Atobe-sama… uuu…."

"What? So she likes that Echizen boy? It is no matter to ore-sama. From how ore-sama sees it, it is merely a simple case of infatuation. Besides, he is on an entirely different level, as compared to him! Sakuno has no choice but to fall madly in love with ore-sama's amazing self! Does it not make sense to you, Kabaji?" Atobe demanded, but he was feeling nervous every second. He accidentally tore off a bud, and he crushed it in his palms.

"She… would be sad…" Kabaji replied in his meek, yet strangely intimidating voice.

Kabaji had spent so much time behind Atobe, yet never had he realized that it was possible to look pitiful with such a brute face. He wondered how much Kabaji understood about him since, after all, he had always been looked after by Kabaji… Atobe smiled, despite himself.

"Very well, Kabaji," he said, gesturing for them to go out of the store. "Ore-sama understands."

"Usu."

o-o-o-o

The very next day, Atobe was once again waiting in front of the Seigaku gates. He was silently playing with the card case inside his pants pocket. It had been quite a while since he had it with him, and never did he leave without it.

"Ah. It's you again."

Atobe smirked in reply to Ryoma's greeting. The boy tipped his cap up and smirked back. He was chewing gum.

"Yes. It seems that ore-sama is strangely attached to your school, Echizen."

"You mean 'to Ryuzaki'." Ryoma blew a bubble and smirked again. He gestured for Atobe to look behind him, and instantly, Atobe flushed as he saw that Sakuno and her friend was walking towards the gate. "Hurry up, monkey king, before I start understanding things."

Atobe nodded. "Ore-sama is more amazing than you take him for, Echizen Ryoma. He takes you as a very worthy opponent." And he walked past the young boy and into Sakuno's path.

Ryoma looked back at him and smiled to himself as he watched as Atobe tried to look cool while talking to the two girls.

"Mada, mada dane."

o-o-o-o

"Ano, Atobe-san?"

Sakuno's face was red as she held onto her bag tighter. Atobe was walking her home.

The past few days had been very new to Atobe. There had been many conflicting emotions that he had never felt before – it was as if he had gone through three whole levels of a video game without knowing how he'll be able to win in the end. Despite all that, he wanted to push through and fight all the bosses, even go against Echizen Ryoma in the end… after all, people who refer to themselves as 'ore-sama' must live up to it.

"I… when we went to that cake shop? Ano, I think… I lost something… It was a card case… and…" Her blush became deeper. "I was wondering if you found it anywhere? Because it was really, really important to---"

"Here." Atobe held out the case. "Ore-sama took care of it for you."

Sakuno brightened up, though she was hesitating on whether to look relieved or embarrassed. "Ah… thank you!" She held onto it, as if she mentally noted not to lose it ever again. "Did you look inside it, Atobe-san?"

"Yes."

"Oh…"

Atobe smirked, and said, "Ore-sama is willing to start as friends." Suddenly, he flushed and looked away. This was his decision, and he was going to stick to it no matter what. "This is special treatment, you hear? Only for very few people is ore-sama willing to wait."

And with that, he gave her a small wave and left, leaving a wondering Sakuno.

o-o-o-o

That night, when Sakuno checked the card case, she sighed in relief as she realized that the photo was still there. _If it was leaked to other people, it would be very embarrassing_, she thought. _Thank goodness it was Atobe-san who found it!_

All before this, a friendship… no, even a conversation… with the immensely popular Atobe Keigo seemed very impossible, especially for a nobody such as herself. Even Tomoka expressed her surprise regularly (albeit always with suspicions of throwing off Ryoma's fanclub). But right now, it seemed to be the case, and it made the pigtailed girl happy.

Before she closed the case, she noticed a small flap at the back of Ryoma's picture. She slowly pulled it out, and gasped as she realized that it was another one… of Atobe's.

At the back, a small note was written:

_In any case you would be too shy to ask ore-sama someday._

Clutching the picture to her chest, Sakuno laughed.

* * *

**THE END**

**Thank you very, very much for the reviews… From what you've read, what do you think should I practice more on? Or what story do you want me to try writing? Thanks a lot**


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